The present invention relates to cases or housings for fluid meter totalizing registers.
For the purpose of this application, a water meter is a device containing an element for conversion of water volumetric flow motion to rotational shaft motion. A totalizing register is most often in the form of a gearbox that mechanically converts this shaft motion to an indication of volumetric consumption, e.g., gallons.
It has been known to achieve transfer of meter shaft rotation information to a fluid meter totalizing register through a magnetic coupling. For example, a face magnet on the meter output shaft is magnetically coupled to a face magnet on the register input shaft, with a magnetically inert barrier surface therebetween, and the magnetic attraction between the opposed pair of magnets is sufficient for transmission of the torque required to turn the register gearbox without significant slippage.
In many applications, the register is frequently operated totally submerged in groundwater, and a register case must be truly impermeable to moisture penetration in order for the register to function accurately and reliably over an extended period of time. As a result, prior art register cases often include features intended to protect the internal parts from corrosive attack by the surrounding elements. However, modern meters increasingly employ an electrical sensor inside the register for transmission of signals to a remote counter some distance away, requiring that electrical lead wires connecting the sensor and the remote counter pass through the register case, thus adversely affecting the integrity of the register case seal. As a result, prior art register cases with electrical lead wires of this type typically must also include complicated assemblies of gaskets, fittings and adapters, which can be both unreliable and costly.